New Starts
by Suibrom
Summary: Just a very short one shot I did for a contest in the Marvel in the Next Degree RP forum. A fateful night's events in a future New York, featuring Morbius and Jennifer Walters.


Jennifer Walters stumbled to her door dressed in her fluffy kitten print pajamas, she had no idea what time it was except that she had been writing a brief for a case at two in the morning before she finally closed her laptop and decided to crash. That had to make it like four? Maybe five AM even. Who the hell could be at the door at this ungodly hour?

She stretched out an arm to grasp the door handle but first leaned forward to see if she could see anyone through the peephole. It was raining hard outside and all she could discern was the bare outline of what looked to be a man under a hood. Without the slightest hint of fear she opened the door.

"Jennifer Walters?" The voice was a deep reverberating tone with a slight accent, heavy emphasis on the consonants. Vaguely familiar but she couldn't quite place it.

"Yes, this is she..."

The man grasped the cheap cotton hood soaked with rain and pulled it back from his head. He was pale, unearthly so with softly luminescent red eyes, a goatee, and long black hair. She knew this man but not like this. He was human when they'd last met, he was obviously not human now. "Michael?! Michael Morbius?! What happened to you?!"

"It's a long story. May I come in?"

"Oh, of course. You have to be invited don't you?" She motioned for him to enter and he gave her a look like she was insane.

"No. I'm just polite." He stepped into her apartment and stripped off the cotton hoodie. It dripped water onto the floor. Underneath he wore only an old stained T-shirt and a pair of khakis with a large tear over one knee. "Cute pajamas by the way."

She stared him down. "I haven't seen you in decades. Why are you here? And more importantly you're a blood drinker again?! You were human before."

He stripped off his boots and looked towards her wearing the most wounded expression she had ever seen. "Something happened in the nineties. I got changed back.. It's not important. What is important is that you were a friend once, can I count you as such now?"

She hesitated for a moment. Only for a moment. "Of course, I'm sorry about my phrasing. What do you need Michael?"

"I only need a place to hide for the night. Please. I'll leave first thing in the morning, I have an offer to turn my life around but making my way back through New York is treacherous." No sooner had he finished speaking then another round of pounding came to Jenn's door and she looked at Morbius expectantly. His face froze into a gaunt expression and he only nodded towards the door. She walked slowly towards it while he grabbed his soiled clothes and took shelter in her living room. He peeked at her around the corner waiting. She opened the door without bothering to look outside.

"Spider-man? What the hell are you doing here?"

Spider-man strolled casually into her hall like it was his own hotel room. "You didn't get the call? You still have your Avengers communicator right?"

"What? I'm not in the Avengers right now, I've been working on my legal practice, I told you guys I was out!" She crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Hey you're still registered. We all are. There's been an all-supers alert. A villain loose who attacked civilians and we need to catch him. It's a five minute job really... whoah, cute PJ's. I'd have had you pegged as a bunnies gal myself but.."

_Oh no._ "Who is it?"

"It's Morbius. You know of him?"

She swallowed. "Yeah I might. Who'd he attack?"

"A young woman who's at the hospital now. She's out cold and a Guy in manhattan, armed and he got a few shots off at Morb. Should hopefully make him injured and slow."

"Wait was it a cop? He had a gun?"

"No cop, guy was caught in an alley, shot as a last defense." Spider-man crossed his arms. "C'mon it'll take thirty minutes tops I promise. We could use you on the case last time I tangled with him he almost fitted me for a coffin."

She held up a hand in a one minute gesture and said "Wait here" while she wandered into her living room. Morbius was nowhere to be found so she continued through the apartment. He stood hidden in the shadows by the door to her bedroom, she walked up to him furious and pushed him through to her room closing the door behind her.

"What happened Michael?"

"I came into town and I was hungry Jen! The man was a rapist, he attacked a woman, knocked her unconscious. He was going to hurt her, so I attacked him. He got three shots off, one hit me here." He took his finger and indicated his shoulder. Sure enough there was a hole burned into the shirt, a close range shot. she pulled the sleeve of his shirt up to see the wound. It was mostly healed but obviously still embedded in his muscle. He blushed finding himself in her bedroom alone with her while she touched him but prayed she didn't notice. It had been years since his wife died and he wasn't used to women being as kind to him as Jen was, nor as unfazed by his appearance. He'd honestly had a torch burning for her in his heart since they had first met in the eighties. "You believe me right?"

She sighed. She did believe him, he had no reason to run straight to her apartment if he really had done something wrong. "And this chance to turn your life around?"

"A job position at Xavier's school. Blood provided by donation, I'll never be a danger to anyone again and I'll have a full laboratory to work on my condition. Students, a classroom, an actual home."

She stood for a moment in thought. "Okay. I'll distract Spider-man. You take my bed okay, or catch a shower. I'll be back in a bit but you'll be safe here."

"I'm so sorry Jen.." He pleaded as she grabbed her purple and white uniform out of her dresser and motioned for him to turn around. He did so willingly and blocked his eyes with his hands as she changed. She giggled behind his back. Michael was nothing if not polite. Any other guy and she'd slip to the bathroom to change but she knew she could trust him. She zipped up the skintight suit and fastened the collar.

"Okay, You can look now. I'll be back. Don't wait up."

"Jen wait... I try to do good. I really do. I know men like that should go to jail but I just can't stand by.. if I have to have blood then I'd rather risk killing them than someone innocent." He looked at her sadly, his arms hung at his sides. She leaned in and gave him a hug as she transitioned to her She-hulk form, lifting him up as she gained height. He blushed and hugged her back enjoying the contact. Affection was something he didn't get very often.

After a silent minute she put him back down on the ground. "It's okay Michael. I still owe you one." and with that she smiled and left for a wild goose chase with Spider-man.

Morbius sat on the bed's edge and glanced around the room. There on the dresser was a picture of the pair taken after his trial. He was human and looked ill, she was smiling and had her arm around his shoulders. It was the same photo that the papers had run the next day but this was an original. "She kept it.." He mumbled under his breath and his eyes darted around the other pictures. One of a baby being held up by a very proud Bruce Banner, he beamed in the still image in the frame. It was dated one year prior and printed in pink metallic ink: Ginny Autumn Banner.


End file.
